Sintered products produced from chromium oxide are widely used in glass furnaces, in particular, when melting glass intended for the manufacture of glass fibers.
However, chromium oxide is particularly sensitive to thermo-mechanical stress when it is exposed to severe temperature gradients. Such temperature gradients generate elastic stress that may lead to cracks in the sintered products which increases wear of the refractory material or complete failure of the parts formed from the refractory material. In order to decrease the risk of cracking of a refractory block, it is necessary to increase its strength while maintaining or reducing the thermoelastic stresses generated during operation. The current development of very high-quality glasses combined with the need extended product lifetime, increases the demand for improved refractory products in glass furnaces, in particular, in chromium oxide refractory objects. Accordingly, the industry continues to demand improved chromium oxide refractory materials having improved resistance to thermoelastic stress.